Excuse us for using a pro wrestling analogy, but back in the day, the San Francisco 49ers were the NFL’s version of “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Seriously.
The 49ers, led by coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana, then by coach George Seifert and quarterback Steve Young, had the golden touch – pun intended. The franchise, owned by the great Eddie DeBartolo, seemed to be able to do no wrong. DeBartolo’s front office, with the prowess of Carmen Policy and the willingness of DeBartolo to write checks, combined with the coaching savvy of Walsh and the playing abilities of Montana, Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig, Jerry Rice and so many others, won Super Bowl after Super Bowl, demolishing – as they put it – the “nameless, faceless” opponents that got in their way.
Even the 1985 Chicago Bears were held to only one championship.
The 49ers? They won three under Walsh, and two under Seifert (1989, then another in 1994).
But DeBartolo wound up on the outs with the NFL, and his sister, Denise DeBartolo York, wound up with the team. To be fair, her son, Jed, has fared a lot better as owner than did her husband and his leadership. Under Jed’s leadership, the 49ers at least made a Super Bowl with Jim Harbaugh as head coach and another led by Kyle Shanahan.
Is this the year the 49ers take the step back to glory and win a sixth Super Bowl title?
That’s the question asked by Bryan Knowles in his NFC preview here (https://playsheet.playoffpredictors.com/2023/08/25/nfl/2023-nfc-preview-is-this-the-49ers-year), and it’s fair, a great effort look at the entire conference, although here’s a hint: if you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan, you might not want to give this a read.
But then, if you’re a Cardinals fan, you probably already figured that.
